Air-gun



0. SEEMULLER.

AIR GUN.

APPLICATION HLED1uN|3.|919.

Patented Jan. 6, 1920.

2 sHEETs-sHEE 1 0. SEEMULLER.

' Am GUN.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I3. |919. 1 327,064. Patented Jan. 6,1920.

, 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

OTTO SEEMULLER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN'.

AIR-GUN.

Application filed .Tune 13, 1919.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, OTTO SEEMULLER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Guns, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an air gun embodyingpositive and reliable means, in a manner as hereinafter set forth, forutilizing air placed under pressure as the propulsion means of aprojectile, said means including a piston which is manually retractedand adapted to be projected by the expansive force of a spring placedunder tension during the manual retraction of the piston.

Another object of this invention is to pro vide a novel arrangement oflevers by which the piston of an air gun may be retracted in synchronismwith the placing of a sprino under tension, the levers being articulatedso that the operator of the gun may easily and quickly cock or set thesame.

A further object of my invention is to furnish an air gun with a pivotedbarrel which is swung to one side of the breach piece of the gun inorder that a projectile may be placed in the barrel, the projectile aswell as the manner of loading the gun being in contradistinction to abarrel adapted to have a shot placed in the outer end thereof.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an air gun whichincludes a novel sear construction, means for adjusting the tension ofthe spring of the gun, and certain other novel constructions which willbe hereinafter specically described and then claimed.

Reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein- Figure l is a planof the air gun, partly broken away and partly in section, showing a gunmechanism in a red or released position;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the air gun, partly brokenaway and partly in section, showing the gun loaded and ready to becocked;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 6, 1920. Serial No. 303,892.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the gun, with the barrel thereof in crosssection, and shifted to a loading position, and

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a. portion of the gun barrelin a closed position.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 denotes the grip portion of agun stock and suitably connected to this grip portion is a connectingmember 2 for a tubular breech piece or spring barrel 3 which has itsside walls slotted, as at 4,-, at the outer end thereof. In the innerendof the breech piece is fixed a sear block or guide 5 for a verticallydisposed slidable sear 6, which has its upper end protruding out of theupper face of the breech piece and beveled, as at 7. The sear 6 hasopenings 8, 9 and 10, the former provided with an adjustable screw plugl1 for regulating the tension of a spring 12 within the opening 9 and onan anchor rod or screw 13 carried by the sear block 5 and extendingthrough the opening 9 of said sear. Extending into the opening 10 of thesear 6 is a trigger 14 pivotally supported, as at 15, by the inner endof the breech piece, said trigger being inclosed by a guard 16 suitablyconnected to the lower wall ofthe breech piece andthe stock grip 1. Thetrigger 111 is constantly in engagement with the sear 6 and the sear maybe retracted by pulling on the trigger 14. l/Vhen the trigger 14 isreleased the expansive force of the spring 1Q elevates said sear.

In the forwardend of the breech piece or spring barrel 3 is a verticallydisposed pivot pin 2:2 and pivotally mounted on said pivot pin andextending through the side slot 4t of the breech piece are mainoperating levers 18- and 19 having the outer ends thereof provided withhand grips or handles 20. The inner end of the main lever 18 is forkedor bifurcated, as at 21 with the inner end of the main lever 19extending therethrough, and pivotally connected to the inner end of themain levers 18 and 19, as at 22, are links 23 and 24. The links 24 aretwo in number, as best shown in Fig. 2, so as to provide clearance forthe main operating lever 19, and the inner ends of the links 23 and 24are pivotally connected together by a pin 25 to which is connected theouter convolution of a coiled expansion spring 26 within the tubularbreech piece or spring barrel 3, said spring having its inner convolutions 27 gathered about a spherical head 28 adjustable on the anchorrod or screw 13. By disconnecting the breech piece from the connectingmember 2, the anchor rod or screw 13 may be adjusted to regulate thetension or expansive force of the spring 26 within the breech piece 3.

Suitably fixed to the outer breech pieceor spring barrel is a support 29which extends above the breech piece and has an apertured boss 30 onwhich is shifted the outer end of an air cylinder or piston barrel 31,said air cylinder having the inner end thereof toothed and supportedfrom the breech piece by a bracket 32. The air cylinder 31 is in spacedrelation to the upper wall of the breech piece and slidable between saidbreech piece and the air cylinder is a slide 'block 33 which has theforward end thereof provided with apertured ears 34 to whicharepivotally connected arms 35 that have the outer ends thereofpiv'otally connected, as at 36, to the outer ends of the main levers 18and 19, said arms being curved from the plane of the levers 18 and 19 tothe plane of the slide block 33. On the rear end of the slide block 33is apost 37 extending through a slot 38 in the lower wall of the aircylinder 31, and suitably connected to said post is a piston rod 39which has a forward end or outer end thereof connected to a piston 40reciprocable in the air cylinder 31. The piston 40 has a suitablepacking ring 41 and the outward stroke of said piston is cushioned by abuffer 42 in the air cylinder against the apertured boss 30, said bufferbeing apertured similar to said boss.

On the rear end of the slide block 33 is an apertured lug 43 and thislug is adapted to be engaged by the upper beveled end of the sear 6, sothat said slide block will be held in a retracted position with thespring 26 expanded.

The cylinder1 support 29 is provided with a stud bolt or pivot pin 44for the lower end of a barrel end plate 45 having an integral barrel 46adapted to register with the apertures in the boss 30 and the buffer 42.The barrel end plate 45 is spring pressed and frictionally held `againstthe cylinder support 29 by a coiled compression. spring 47 and anadjustable nut 48 on the stud bolt 44, and the movement of said barrelend plate relative to the cylinder support 29 is limited by a pin 49,carried by the support 29, extending into a segment slot 50 of thebarrel end plate 45, as best shown in Fig. 5. The barrel end plate 45also has a beveled lug 51 which rides into a recess 52 of the cylindersupport 29 and wedges or forces the barrel end plate 45 against thecylinder support 29, as shown in Fig. 6. plate 45 swung to one side,Fig.v 5, a projectile 53 may be placed in the inner end of the barrel 46and by swinging the barrel end plateto` a closedposition in as shown inend of the With the barrel end.

registration with the cylinder support 29, the barrel 46 is in positionfor the air gun to be discharged.

Assuming that the gun is in the position shown in Fig. 1, both hands maybe employed on the levers 18 and 19 to pull the outer ends thereofrearwardly and inwardly toward the breech piece of the gun. Thismovement of the levers 18 and 19 pulls outwardly on the links 23 and 24causing the spring 26 to be expanded and simultaneous with thisoperationA the block 33 is shifted rearwardly so that the piston 40 willbe re tracted and the apertured lug 43 snapped into engagement with theslidable sear 6. The gun is now cocked and by pulling on the trigger 14,the sear 6 is retracted or lowered to release the slide block 33, whichis forcibly shifted by retraction of the spring 26, through the mediumof the levers 18 and 19, links 23 and 24 and arms 35. The air in theouter end of the cylinder 31 is forced through the apertured buffer 42and the boss 30 against the inner end of the projectile 53 and saidprojectile is ejected from the barrel 46. j

To prevent the fingers of a hand holding the gun from interfering withthe movement of the slide block 33 or being injured thereby, the breechpiece has lateral guards 54 connected to the sides of the breech piece 3by screws 55 or other fastening means.

One embodiment of my invention has been illustrated, but it is to beunderstood that the structural elements are susceptible to suchvariations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What I claim is 1. An air gun comprising a breech piece, an air cylinderon said breech piece, a barrel supported from said breech piece in axialalinement with said air cylinder and adapted to have a projectile'inserted in its inner end, air propulsion means in said air cylinder,operating means including opposed levers extending through said breechpiece, and means slidable between said breech piece and said aircylinder and connected tothe levers of said operating means foroperating said air propulsion means.

2. An air gun as characterized in claim 1, wherein said operating meansincludes a spring, and links connecting said spring to the inner ends ofthe levers of said operating means for placing said spring undertension.

3. An air gun as characterized in claim 1, wherein the barrel ispivo'tallyl supported from the breech piece and adapted to be swung outof alinement with the air cylinder so that said barrel may be loaded.

4. In an airy gun, the combination with a breech piece, a barrel, andmeans at said breech adapted for discharging a projectile from saidbarrel,`of a'ba-rrel end plate supporting said barrel relative to saidbreech piece and adapted to be swung to one side to permit of saidbarrel being loaded at the inner end thereof.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4, wherein additional means isemployed for holding said barrel in a closed position.

6. An air gun comprising a breech piece, an air cylinder on said breechpiece, a barrel alining with said air cylinder and adapted for holding aprojectile, a piston in said air cylinder adapted to force air againstthe projectile in said barrel, a slide block between said air cylinderand said breech piece for moving said piston, and means carried by saidbreech piece adapted for shifting said slide block.

n air gun as characterized inclaim 6 wherein the barrel is pivotedrelative to the breech piece and adapted to be swung to one side toreceive the projectile in its inner end.

8. Asn air gun comprising a breech piece, an air cylinder on said breechpiece, a barrel alining with said air cylinder and adapted for holding aprojectile, a piston in said air cylinder adapted to force air againstthev projectile in said barrel, a slide block between said air cylinderand said breech piece for moving said piston, lever mechanism in theouter end of said breech piece adapted to move said slide block, saidlever mechanism being manually actuated to move said slide block in onedirection, and means in said breech piece the manual actuation of saidlever mechanism adapted to shift said block in an opposite direction.

9. An air gun as characterized in claim 8 wherein additional means insaid breech piece is adapted to hold the last mentioned means in anactive condition.

l0. An air gun as characterized in claim 8 wherein the barrel is pivotedrelative to said breech piece and adapted to be swung to one side toreceive the projectile in its inner end.

1l. An air gun as characterized in claim 8, wherein the lever mechanismincludes pivoted levers protruding from the sides whereof I aiiix mysignature in the presence of two witnesses.

OTTO SEEMULLER, Witnesses:

OTTO F. BARTREL, ANNA M. DoRR.

placed in active condition by of the breech piece, and arms connectingd

